What You Need to Know About the Building Regulations Certificate

Businesses in London and around the country need to be aware of the Building Regulations that concern heat producing appliances like boilers and fires. Most businesses in London have some form of heating, including boilers, and many have cookers, fires, and other gas appliances that supply heat to the building. In England and Wales the law states that whenever a heat producing appliance is installed in premises, the Local Authorities (LA) must be informed. What are the Building Regulations exactly, and what are the Gas Safe rules that businesses in London need to abide by?

Building Regulations and Gas Safe Rules

If you are installing any gas appliance in your commercial premises then you need to notify, as a process of self-certification, the LA of the appliances you have installed. If you are the owner of your property then you also need to ensure you comply with the Building Regulations. In order to smoothly progress the notification process it is useful if you have a Commercial Gas Engineer London install the appliance who also notifies of the work done. Similar regulations exist in Guernsey and the Isle of Man but they do not exist in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Building Regulations Certificate

The notification of the installation of the appliance is made through the Gas Safe Register. After the notification has been completed you will receive a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate through the post. It is worth remembering that this certificate is attached to the property and not to you, so you need to keep it in case you sell.

Declaration of Safety Certificate

The Declaration of Safety Certificate is produced when you notify the LA that you have installed a flueless gas appliance used for cooking, for example a cooker or a hob unit. You can voluntarily notify for these appliances as they are not included in the building regulations.

Considerations for the Notifications

You need to notify the Local Authority within 30 working days from when the installation is completed. If you use a Gas Safe engineer who will notify for you, you can check when the notification has been made and therefore when to expect your certificate. If the engineer has not completed the notification within the required 30 days you need to ask them to do it, and if you are having problems with the notification contact the Local Authority or the Citizens Advice Bureau.